Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2008, published 98th ILC session (2009)

Social Policy (Basic Aims and Standards) Convention, 1962 (No. 117) - Portugal (Ratification: 1981)

The Committee notes the detailed legislative information attached to the Government’s report for the period June 2003 to May 2008, including observations from the General Confederation of Portuguese Workers (CGTP-IN).

Parts I and II of the Convention. Improvement of standards of living. Article 2. The CGTP-IN observes, among other things, that standards of living, measured in terms of per capita GDP, remained stable between 2002 and 2006, with an improvement being recorded in 2007. Economic policies have hardly contributed to improving the well-being of the population. The increase in the standard of living was clearly lower than for the rest of the European Union. The CGTP-IN claims that when general public policies were formulated, their impact on the well-being of the population was not taken into consideration, with financial factors having been the key consideration. The Committee reiterates its interest in examining a summary evaluation of the manner in which it is ensured that “the improvement of standards of living” has been regarded as “the principal objective in the planning of economic development”.

Part IV. Remuneration of workers. In response to the comments which have been made since the ratification of the Convention on the regulation of the maximum amounts and the manner of repayment of advances on wages, the Government indicates in its report that the national legislation has not been amended in this respect. The CGTP-IN confirms that the Labour Code does not provide for measures relating to advances on wages as required by Article 12 of the Convention. The Government adds that outside the period covered by the report, an agreement was reached between employers’ confederations and a trade union confederation on the revision of the labour legislation, and these measures were incorporated into a legislative proposal to amend the Labour Code. The Government states that it will supply detailed information in its next report on the legislative amendment and the measures adopted to improve the aspects of the labour market situation referred to by the CGTP-IN – in particular, discrimination, growth of collective recruitment, reducing the instability of employment, combating hidden self-employment, boosting vocational training, academic and vocational qualifications of minors and the effectiveness of labour legislation. The Committee hopes that the legislative reform in progress has taken account of the comments which have been made since the ratification of the Convention. The Committee hopes that the Government will also be in a position to provide information on the measures taken to: (a) regulate the maximum amounts and manner of repayment of advances on wages; (b) limit the amount of advances which may be made to a worker in consideration of his taking up employment; and (c) establish that any advance in excess of the amount laid down by the competent authority shall be legally irrecoverable and may not be recovered by the withholding of amounts of pay due to the worker at a later date.

[The Government is asked to reply in detail to the present comments in 2010.]